Menu Monday: Ratatouille!

Confession:  I've never seen the movie Ratatouille.

I was really tempted to back when there was a Ratatouille tie-in with Jon & Kate Plus Eight.  (I was obsessed with those multiples back in the day...2008.)

Anyhoo, this recipe has been floating around the Internet lately, so I thought I would give it a whirl.  Since I don't have an oval platter, I used a Pyrex dish.  It didn't turn out quite as lovely as the original.  But it was darn cute.

I figured it would allow me the opportunity to try eggplant in a different way, and maybe, just maybe, I would like it.

I didn't really like it, but I did like the ratatouille.  Make sense?  The squash and zucchini and red pepper and tomato and onion was yumm-o.  :)

RATATOUILLE

1/2 purple onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, slivered

1+ cup tomato puree 

1/4 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 skinny eggplant

1 summer squash

1 zucchini

1 skinny red bell pepper

fresh thyme

salt and pepper to taste

-Preheat over to 375.

-Pour tomato puree into 13x10 Pyrex dish.  Add onion and garlic.  Stir in seasonings and 1 Tbsp of olive oil.

-Wash veggies and trim off the ends.  Slice into very thin slices.

-Layer veggies atop tomato puree in a swirl towards the center.  (I could have ton a bit better at this.)  There may be some veggies left over, and you may have to use two slices of the same veggie if they are small (like my zucchini) or cut down the slices if they are too big (like my eggplant).

-Drizzle veggies with remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil and sprinkle thyme across the dish.

-Cut a piece of parchment to cover the dish, so that the paper fits inside.

-Bake 40 to 55 minutes until the veggies are cookie and the tomato puree is bubbling up.

[serves 4]

Next time, I'm leaving the eggplant out!

Have you ever had ratatouille before?  Have you seen the movie?

Let me know what you think of this if you try it!

Lazy Weekend and Sleeping Beauty

I had another low-key weekend, but it was nice.  I've been rubbish with this blog lately, and I thought about posting Thursday night after my class and then Friday when I wasn't doing anything.  But I just didn't.  Friday night, Zach had a guys night, and other than brushing the kitties, my butt stayed on the couch allllll night!  I wasted time on Pinterest and watching Extreme Couponing.  Oh, I lied...I did get off the couch when I made popcorn for dinner.  ;)

*I tell Zach about my night when he gets home*

ZACH:  How domestic of you!

ME:  What's so domestic about sitting on the couch all night?

Cue laughter.

Saturday was a bit more happening.  I was supposed to meet Katie for breakfast/brunch then lunch then lunch/snack time.  She had to bring Tommy up for a conference and was bringing Ella Kate along with her.  That meant I finally got to meet Miss EK, who is now two months old!

If you know Katie, you know she is the latest person in the world.  (Hey!  She admits it.)  So I can only imagine how late it must be now that she has a baby.  ;)  But I was just glad to see them for a little bit.  Zach and I ended up eating McNuggets for lunch and had what we fondly call a DipFest.

(I hate myself.)

So I just planned to have a snack when I got to meet up with the (Ella) Katies.  We met at Briar Rose, Katie had lunch, I had dessert, and Miss Ella Kate napped and got photographed by moi.  :)

She is absolutely beautiful with the loveliest eyelashes and lips.  Ella Kate also has such a funny little personality (at least, the little bit I saw when she woke as they were leaving).  I told her all babies have this reaction to me (see tri-photo collage above).  :)

After visiting with them, I stopped by Target and got some Cheez Its on clearance!  Then I picked up a shirt on clearance with a $10 off coupon at Kohl's and popped into Sam's and got gas.

For dinner, I made Eggs Florentine, and it was sooo good!  I made my Hollandaise sauce too soon, and my butter had cooled, so it wasn't quite right.  Still yummy though.

Today, we lazed about for just about all of the day.  I did pop down to Harp's to pick up some blueberry muffins and a paper this morning.  For lunch, I thawed some bolognese and planned our meals for the week.  I was so proud of the haul I got at the grocery store tonight!  I spent just over $21 for 2 family-sized boxes of Cap'n Crunch, 2 boxes of Honey Grahams, 1 jar of pickles, 1 box of Texas Toast, 2 boxes of scalloped potatoes, 1 Cool Whip, 1 4-pack of Greek yogurt, and 1 box of cheesecake pudding.  (I volunteered for office snack time this week.)

Looks like that Extreme Couponing is rubbing off...

How did your weekend stack up?

Gratitude Journal: To teach is to touch a life.

I bet you thought I was going to be reeeeeeal sappy with that title, right?

WRONG.  ;)

Remember that teach that wore the same thing in his yearbook photo for, like, 40 years?

(He's over here.)

Yeah, he's still got something on me.

(More accurately, 37 years...)

BUT.

THIS.

I've worn this blouse at some point during the first week of classes for the past three years now. In fact, I bought this shirt during my first week of teaching (at NWACC--I was already teaching at U of Px).

(I paid next to nothing for it with a $10 Kohl's gift card.  They send those babies out all the time in the mail!)

I accessorized it with my chaotic jazz hands, terrified eyes, and gaping mouth. Because those are the BEST accessories. Annnnnd THAT is how scary students are.

BUT. I'm EVOLVING. Not so as scared of those kiddos anymore. I'll get up there and sing jingles, tell them all about my slimy first kiss, and punctuate "y'all" properly to try to get them to learn SOMETHING about writing.

That's why, this year, I'm like: BRING. IT. ON.

Because it's actually quite a bit of good fun to make a foo' o' yo'self.

In reality, I do take this calling very seriously.  I feel so blessed to be teaching my eleventh class this semester, my ninth at NWACC.  I get so excited thinking about how my students are going to move on from my class, get through school, and go on to live their dreams!  I have future nurses and engineers, lawyers and business owners, writers and future colleagues in my class.  And honestly, this is the first semester that I have been more excited than nervous to meet my students and see how we are going to rock this class.  All of the assignments are going to deal with advertisements, which = Mad Men.  Score.

Of course, don't come near me an hour before six Thursday evening.  I'll be quakin' in my boots.

Wish me luck!